Song of the Day: Diamond Rugs – Christmas In A Chinese Restaurant

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Each and every Friday we offer songs by local artists. This week we are featuring songs for the holidays. Today’s featured selection is “Christmas In A Chinese Restaurant” by Diamond Rugs from their forthcoming 2012 album on Partisan Records.

Brooklyn’s Partisan Records is probably best known as being the current home of bands like Deer Tick, Dolorean, and Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside, but their latest signing, Diamond Rugs, is poised to make waves throughout the independent world. The names involved should raise a few eyebrows on their own, as the band features John McCauley (Deer Tick), Robbie Crowell (Deer Tick), Ian Saint Pé (Black Lips), Steve Berlin (Los Lobos), Hardy Morris (Dead Confederate) and Bryan Dufresne (Six Finger Satellite). But that’s not the only reason to break out fresh brews and wait expectantly for the album to drop. While the as-yet-untitled LP doesn’t hit shelves until the new year, fans of the so-named “drunk-punks” can catch a special preview listen with the band’s darkly comedic holiday-themed track, “Christmas In A Chinese Restaurant.” In this one, McCauley takes to the piano and weaves a mournful but poignant tale of a drunken, depressing Christmas told in lurid detail, with vocals at their most parched and heartbroken.

Check out McCauley playing the track on his acoustic guitar below, become pre-emptive stalkers for the band over at their Facebook, and stay tuned for more news about this developing project!